It’s a story based on true events but filled entirely with lies. With aesthetic inspirations like Tim Burton and Edward Gory, Vertigo’s fall production The Curious Case of Caroline Crane is a surreal gothic fairy tale sure to visually enthrall playgoers. Set in 18th century Victorian England, Caroline Crane tells the story of a young girl who lies persistently until her lies start to become reality.
Caroline’s story is told from the point of view of the author who is writing her story. In the tradition of Lemony Snicket, exactly how much truth there is to Caroline’s story remains ambiguous.
Student playwright and Communication sophomore Jen D’Angelo describes the play as a story about reality and fiction and how the two are not always completely separate.
“As a writer, when I create characters they are controlled by what I write and what I make them do, but who’s to say they aren’t real people?” D’Angelo says. “It’s about what’s real and what’s not. It’s very meta.”
Director and Communication senior Chelsea Slaven took on the challenge of bringing the surreal world of Caroline Crane to the stage. Though Caroline Crane is Slaven’s directorial debut, her background in design has come in handy on the set of highly visual play.
“The aesthetic for the play is very creepy; the look and feel are almost distinct,” Slaven says of the production’s design.
Erika Rankin, a Communication junior who stars as the ten-year-old title character, was first attracted to the story’s characters, but worries that the visual aesthetic may even distract audiences from the story.
“I hope people will see beyond the design to the story,” Rankin says. “Caroline is a mischievous ten-year-old. She lies. But she’s actually a nice person.”
Though Caroline is indeed a mischievous liar, all involved insist that the audience will grow to love her as the narrator-Reginald Gibbons (who coincidentally shares his name with a Northwestern English professor)-tells her tale.
“It’s very funny and clever,” says producer Kristyn Armour, a Weinberg junior. “D does an amazing job of capturing the characters and the intimacy of brothers and sisters and family in general. People may get caught up in the aesthetic, but there’s a good story.”
Despite her youth, Caroline shows complexity and evolves throughout the play. When asked to describe Caroline, D’Angelo and Rankin offered similar adjectives. While Rankin described her character as “sharp as whip and sneaky but kind,” D’Angelo summed her up as “crafty, creative, and smart.” Though D’Angelo describes Caroline as an amalgam of two other characters she had created for previous plays, Caroline has become a driving force for the play and figure with which the audience can connect.
“My favorite part of Caroline Crane is that the entire thing is very creepy and very dark, but at the same time has many beautiful elements,” D’Angelo says. “It’s similar to [The Nightmare Before Christmas] -it’s dark but you sympathize. It’s made up of beautiful moments in drab world.”
“You’re never really sure if it’s fiction or reality,” Slaven explains. “The gravity of the idea is that this is a real person’s life. She becomes a story book character though and her story ends and the book closes.”
The Curious Case of Caroline Crane opens in Shanley Pavilion on Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. with showings at 8 and 11 p.m. on the 16th and 17th.
Communication sophomore Kayleigh Roberts is a PLAY writer. She can be reached at [email protected].
